Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cakes

I saw a recipe this morning for caramel apple muffins on the NYTimes and had to try it out. But with the amount of butter and sugar in this recipe, I don't know how anyone can call it a muffin; this is most definitely a cake. I made a few changes, and have decided that this is almost as delicious as my mom's pineapple upside down cake.

I used Macoun apples from the Columbia farmer's market. At only $1.25 a pound, they are by far the best apples I've ever tasted.


Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cakes 
adapted from the NYTimesmakes 12 biggish cupcakes

for the topping:
2 big apples, peeled and diced 
1/2 cup vegan sugar
 2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional) 


for the batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
big punch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg 
3/4 cup 0% greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin tin. In a saucepan, stir together the topping ingredients (except the walnuts) and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Distribute the apple slices among the muffin cups. Add walnuts, if using, on top of the apples. 

Whisk together the dry ingredient. In a seperate bowl, mix the butter, eggs, yogurt and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together until smooth. The batter will be quite thick. Distribute the batter on top of the apples. Bake until the muffins are slightly puffed, about 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before inverting onto a dish and devouring.

*This makes 12 rather puffed up cakes, which makes them not stand quite flat when flipped over. If you have extra tins, you could probably make another four cakes and have them all be perfectly sized. Just throw in a bit more apple when you make the topping*